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PERSONAL NARRATIVES 


OF EVENTS IN THE 

War of the Rebellion. 

No. 14. —Second Series. 



-Service of the Cavalry 

IN THE 

ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, 


EDWARD P. TOBIE, 




















PERSONAL NARRATIVES 


OF EVENTS IN THE 

War of the Rebellion, 


BEING PAPERS READ BEFORE THE 


RHODE ISLAND SOLDIERS AND SAILORS 
HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 


No. 14 —Second Series. 


PROVIDENCE : 

N. BANGS WILLIAMS & COMPANY. 
1882 . 




Copyright by 

N. BANGS WILLIAMS. 


PROVIDENCE PRESS COMPANY, PRINTERS. 


SERVICE OF THE CAVALRY 


IN THE 


Army of the Potomac, 


EDWARD P. TOBIE, 


LATE SECOND LIEUTENANT FIRST MAINE CAVALRY. 



PROVIDENCE: 




n i/. i 7i 



N. BANGS WILLIAMS & COMPANY. 


1 88 2 . 







Et7° 

. 2 . 


Copyright by 
N. BANGS WILLIAMS. 
1882. 


SERVICE OF THE CAVALRY 


IN THE 

ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 

[Read before the Society, February 12,1879 ] 


At the opening of the war of the rebellion it was not 
thought cavalry would be of any use whatever. There 
was a prejudice in the minds of army officers against 
cavalry, even of the regulars, while as for volunteer 
cavalry, the very thought of that was enough to 
frighten an army officer out of his boots. "Volun¬ 
teer cavalry,” said they, "humph ! a mounted mob !” 
Nor did the War Department have any faith in it. 
Consequently offers of mounted troops were steadily 
refused during the first summer. The cavalry in the 
service at the outbreak of the rebellion was five reg¬ 
iments, aggregating 4,400 men, of whom not more 
*than one-fourth were available at the seat of war, 
and the addition to the regular army authorized by 


k 



6 


SERVICE OF THE CAVALRY IN 


proclamation of the President, May 4, 1861, con¬ 
sisted of nine regiments of infantry, twelve batteries, 
and one regiment of cavalry. By September of 
1861, however, the "sixty-day” idea had become 
thoroughly exploded, and the government began to 
believe that the southerners meant business—meant 
to fight to the bitter end. So more troops were 
called for, and in this call was a provision for cav¬ 
alry. When cavalry regiments had been organized 
in various states and were about ready to take the field, 
there was "a change in the war department, Mr. 
Cameron going out and Mr. Stanton coming in” (to 
quote from a speech by Hon. James G. Blaine, 
made at the reunion of my regiment, last summer, 
at Augusta, Me.), "and a general order went out to 
disband all the volunteer cavalry regiments in the 
country at that time.” I was then in camp with my 
regiment, the First Maine, in Augusta, and for three 
or four weeks we did not know what was to become 
of us—whether we were to be mustered out or go to 
the front. Mr. Blaine, then Speaker of the Maine 
House of Representatives, Vice President Hamlin, and 
United States Senators Morrill and Fessenden, did 



THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 


7 


their best to keep the regiment in the service, but, as 
Mr. Blaine says, "all their efforts would have been in¬ 
effectual had it not turned out that a regular army offi¬ 
cer, who had been here on some sort of duty, came 
to the war department, and with a good round, 
square cavalry oath, told Stanton that he could not 
afford to disband this regiment.” When they did 
decide to keep us, they didn’t know what to do with 
us. Various and sundry projects were started to 
get us out of the state, but the government evi¬ 
dently didn’t want to take care of us, and the result 
was, we staid amid the cold and snows of Maine all 
that winter, living in tents. We weren’t exactly 
happy there, but we got some drill and discipline out 
of it, as well as somewhat enured to hardships. The 
First Khode Island Cavalry, or, as it was then 
termed, the "First New England Cavalry,” also re¬ 
mained in their own state during the winter, as did, 
probably, regiments in other states. I mention these 
facts simply to show that the government didn’t 
think much of cavalry at that time. 

There was some reason for want of faith in volun¬ 
teer cavalry, aside from the belief that the theatre of 


8 


SERVICE OF TIIE CAVALRY IN 


war was not suitable for the movements of mounted 
troops, the cost of maintenance, etc. The men of 
the south were born horsemen, almost. Old and 
young were nearly or quite as much at home oil 
horseback as on foot, and the horses, also, were used 
to the saddle. Therefore they could put cavalry 
regiments into the field with great facility and in 
comparatively good fighting condition, as witness 
the famous Black Horse Cavalry. In the northern 
and eastern states it was different. Equestrianism 
was almost one of the lost arts. Few, especially 
in cities, were accustomed to riding, aud the great 
majority of men who would enlist in the cavalry 
must learn to ride and to use arms on horseback, as 
well as learn drill, discipline, camp duties, and the 
duties of service generally. "A sailor on horse¬ 
back,” is a synonym for all that is awkward, but the 
veriest Jack tar on horseback was no more awkward 
than was a large proportion of the men who entered 
the cavalry service in the north and east. 

I am reminded by this comparison, of a little inci¬ 
dent that occurred in my own regiment. With 
green men and green horses, there were lively times 


THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 


9 


in the first lessons of mounted drill. The horses 
reared and kicked, and crowded this way and that, 
with annoying want of regard for the rider, whose 
frantic efforts to aid the animal often only made matters 
worse. Some horses would push forward or be 
squeezed out in front of the line, while it was a very 
common thing to see horses hanging back, or 
squeezed out to the rear of the line. When men 
and horses had got sort of used to the new condi¬ 
tion of things, the regiment was called out one after¬ 
noon to be reviewed by His Excellency Governor 
Washburne, (Israel, Jr.) We got to the parade 
ground and into line all right and without serious 
accident. It happened that one of our companies 
was composed mostly of sailors, while the captain 
was an old sea captaiu. As the column was march¬ 
ing in review, this captain noticed that the horse of 
one of his men had been crowded out to the rear of the 
company, and in his anxiety to have his command 
appear as well as any of them in the eyes of His 
Excellency, he sort of forgot his military, and sang 
out: "Come up there, Joe! what in hell are you 
falling astern for?” Joe was all sailor, and replied in- 


10 


SERVICE OF THE CAVALRY IN 


stantly: "I can’t get the damned thing in stays, 
captain !” "Well, give her more headway, then ! ” re¬ 
plied the captain in the old quarter-deck tone. 

In the course of .events we got away from Maine, 
and trod the sacred soil of Virginia in April, 1862. 
Five companies of the regiment were sent to Har¬ 
per’s Ferry, under General Banks (N. P.), (and by 
the way, the famous retreat down the Shenandoah 
Valley, which gave General Banks his military rep¬ 
utation, would not have shed such a lustre upon his 
name but for the services of the cavalry), and the 
remainder joined the force then along the Rappahan¬ 
nock and was attached to General Abercrombie’s 
brigade of infantry. A week or two later, General 
Hartsuff took command of the brigade. ’Twasn't 
long before one company was detailed for provost 
guard, and another company was detailed as body 
guard at some division headquarters. Then we went 
to Falmouth and were attached to some other brig¬ 
ade or division, and were sent here and there, until 
within six weeks after we got into Virginia the 
query was common among the boys, "whose kite are 
we going to be tail to, next?” And that was about 


THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 


11 


the way things were all that summer. The cavalry was 
attached to infantry brigades and divisions, compa¬ 
nies were at various headquarters, large details were 
made for orderlies, etc., at other headquarters, and 
it was almost impossible to find a large body of cav¬ 
alry serving together—hardly a regiment. I know 
my own regiment did not serve all together that 
summer, and I have no reason to suppose it was very 
much different with other regiments. There was 
one cavalry brigade, as I remember it, commanded 
by General Bayard, but the forces composing it 
were together but a small portion of the time. My 
own regiment served with this brigade at different 
periods for a few days at a time (the last time being 
at the battle of Fredricksburg, where General Bay¬ 
ard was killed), and one joker remarked, "Our prin¬ 
cipal duty seems to be, to be attached to and de¬ 
tached from Bayard’s Brigade.” Another brigade 
was formed in duly, commanded by General J. P. 
Hatch, and there seems to have been several at¬ 
tempts to get at least some of the cavalry together, 
which for some reason were not successful to any 
great extent. 

O r 


12 


SERVICE OF THE CAVALRY IN 


We were employed in various ways. Of course, 
scouting was a large part of the duty. Often we 
would find the enemy, and after a skirmish, in obe¬ 
dience to orders turn him over to the infantry to 
take care of, and it is not to be wondered at that 
the latter started the cry: "There’s going to be a 
fight, boys, the cavalry’s coming back.” There was 
reason for so saying. The orderly duty was abun¬ 
dant, arduous, and the least appreciated. There was 
also a good deal of picket-duty ; and a good deal of 
skirmishing on the flanks, and as advance and rear 
guard ; and first and last there was a good deal of 
fighting by the cavalry (though none by large 
bodies, and no thoroughly cavalry fight took place 
that summer), and many a cavalryman gave his 
life on the field or received wounds that crippled him 
for life. Then there were several expeditions sent 
out which were successful and which were considered 
big things. For instance, there was a reconnoissance 
under General Stoneman, Chief of Cavalry, March 
14, 1862, towards Warrenton, to see where the ene¬ 
my was that had left the Quaker guns at Manassas 
and thus kept our army in quiet; an expedition 
under Kilpatrick, in July ; another in July which 


THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 


13 


went to Beaver Dam Station, marching eighty miles 
in thirty hours; another under General Pleasanton, 
in October, with seven hundred men—and so on. 
During the second Bull Run battle my regiment was 
at General Pope’s headquarters, and on the last day 
of the battle was stationed in rear of the line of bat¬ 
tle to stop the straggling of the infantry ("dough 
boys,” we called them), and keep them in their 
places. Nor was this the only time during the war 
that we were put on this kind of duty. 

So passed the summer and fall of 1862, and all 
along through those campaigns, with second Bull 
Run, Antietam and Fredericksburg, the cavalryman 
grew more and more disgusted and was inclined to 
be ashamed that he belonged to a branch of the ser¬ 
vice that had cost the government so much to put 
into the field and maintain, and that was of so little 
real benefit; and he hung his head at the remark so 
often heard, "Who ever saw a dead cavalryman?’ 
He could see in his services- as a whole, no good 
gained, though he had performed every duty as¬ 
signed him, and performed it well; had obeyed all 
orders faithfully (and who could do more?). His 


14 


SERVICE OF THE CAVALRY IN 


duties had been arduous and continuous. He had 
worked much harder than the infantryman or artil¬ 
leryman, had suffered equally, had marched three or 
four times as much, had slept less and been on duty 
more, had really fought as much, yet there seemed 
to be nothing to show for it as compared to the glo¬ 
rious deeds of his brothers-in-arms who were on 
foot. But he had been gaining all the time in expe¬ 
rience of the best sort, had become an old cam¬ 
paigner, and was now perfectly at home on his horse. 
This, of course, he could not then fully understand. 

Now there came a change—a grand change for 
the cavalry. General Burnside was put in com¬ 
mand of the Army of the Potomac. Then came into 
being the grand old cavalry corps of the Army of the 
Potomac. Cavalr 3 r men will remember that to Gene¬ 
ral Burnside belongs the credit of commencing the 
organization of the cavalry corps. The scattered 
commands were gathered together and the cavalry 
was organized into brigades and divisions, the whole 
forming a corps, of which General Stoneman was 
put in command. The cavalryman's prospects 
brightened. He began to feel there was a chance 


THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 


15 


for him yet. And there was. The organization of 
the cavalry commenced by General Burnside was 
well carried out by General Hooker ("Fighting 
Joe”), who, it was said, rubbed his hands with glee 
at the thought of seeing a "dead cavalryman,” and 
who is generally, though wrongfully given the whole 
credit of organizing the cavalry. The winter was 
passed in organizing and in drilling, what time could 
be spared from other duties, which were onerous, 
and before spring the different commands were 
somewhat acquainted with each other. It should 
not be forgotten, that among the duties of that win¬ 
ter, picket bore a prominent part. All along the 
line of the Rappahannock, below Falmouth, the di¬ 
vision to which I belonged (Third Division Cavalry 
Corps, Army of the Potomac, commanded by Gene¬ 
ral David' McM. Gregg) stood picket incessantly, 
while the other divisions did picket duty above Fal¬ 
mouth and elsewhere—keeping watch while the army 
slept. 

The incidents of the cavalry service that winter 
arc many ; but I must not stop to tell stories, or I 
will never get through. The main thing was, the 


16 


SERVICE OF THE CAVALRY IN 


cavalry was organized that winter. The first grand 
result was a cavalry fight at Kelly’s Ford, on the 
17th of March, between General AverilPs division 
and General Stuart’s force. The comrades of the 
First Rhode Island Cavalry can tell more about this 
fight than I can, as they bore a noble part in it; but 
I know that this fight went on record as the first real 
cavalry fight of the war in the Army of the Poto¬ 
mac ; and I also know that it resulted in a complete 
victory for our boys, and that the enemy acknowl¬ 
edged their defeat. Then, in April and May, came 
Stoneman’s famous raid to the rear of the enemy— 
the first thoroughly organized expedition into the 
enemy’s country. After various false starts on ac¬ 
count of bad weather, the cavalry corps got away, 
and swinging around to the rear of Lee’s force, cut 
his communication with Richmond, and then scatter¬ 
ing in various directions, rode through the country, 
destroying railroads, canals, canal-boats, stations, 
and government property in abundance, one force 
riding inside the outer line of the fortifications of 
Richmond, and carrying consternation everywhere, 
returning in safety after being nine days outside our 


THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 


17 


lines. If this raid did not accomplish all that was 
hoped from it, owing to the unfortunate turn of af¬ 
fairs at Chancellorsville, it did much, and what was 
better it gave the government and the people confi¬ 
dence in the cavalry, and the cavalryman confidence 
in himself such as at that time he could have got in 
no other way, and tested his power of endurance se¬ 
verely. During the first four days and three nights, 
after we got fairly away, the men got no sleep save 
what they got on their horses as they rode along, 
and then, after one night’s good solid sleep, they had 
three more days of service and nights of marching 
without sleep. More than that, it taught the enemy 
another lesson, and added to the respect he had be¬ 
gun to entertain for the Yankee cavalry. 

Then followed the cavaliy fight at Brandy Station 
(sometimes known as Beverly Ford), on the ninth 
of June, in which General Buford’s brigade of regu¬ 
lars, and General Gregg’s division, all under com¬ 
mand of General Pleasanton, surprised General 
Stuart’s whole force early in the morning, and rode 
all around and in among them, charging them re¬ 
peatedly, scattering them in every direction, and 


18 


SERVICE OF THE CAVALRY IN 


were only prevented from thoroughly whipping 
them, according to their own statements, by the fact 
that General Stuart had three or four times as many 
men. How well I remember that fight. We started 
out in the early morning, reaching Kelly’s Ford, on 
the Rappahannock, by daylight, and as we forded 
the stream heard the sounds of cannon up the river, 
to the right, where Buford’s brigade was already at 
work. We galloped through the woods over a road 
so dusty that we could hardly recognize each other 
as we rode along, and after a ride of three or four 
miles, reached the field just as the other two 
regiments of our brigade (Harris Light and Tenth 
New York), commanded by General Judson Kil¬ 
patrick, having charged upon the enemy, were com¬ 
ing back in confusion, with the enemy in pursuit. 
As my regiment came out of the woods it was has¬ 
tily formed by squadrons and ordered to charge, the 
remainder following as soon as they could get out of 
the woods and form. Thus, before we were aware 
of it, almost, we were engaged in our first cavalry 
charge. And now opened before us, and of which 
we were a part, a scene of the grandest description. 


THE AKMY OF THE POTOMAC. 


19 


We were nearly at the right of a large open field of 
undulating ground, with woods on our right. At 
our left, as far as eye could reach, were seen bodies 
of our cavalry advancing with quick movements to¬ 
ward the enemy’s cavalry, who were also in full 
sight and apparently as active. Officers grouped 
with their staffs, and squads of orderlies, could be 
seen in different localities, some quietly watching the 
tide of battle, others moving in various directions. 
Bodies of troops were also in reserve, waiting till 
the course of events developed where they could be 
used to the best advantage. Orderlies and staff offi¬ 
cers were riding at full speed in every direction, 
helter-skelter, apparently, as if the success of the 
engagement depended upon each one. In our front 
and moving rapidly toward us were the enemy’s 
troops that had just driven the other regiments of 
our brigade from the field, and whose movements 
assumed a hesitating appearance as we advanced. 
A little to the right of our front was a rebel battery, 
which turned its attention to us as we emerged from 
the woods. The whole plain was one vast field of 
intense, earnest action. It was a scene to be wit- 


20 


SERVICE OF THE CAVALRY IN 


nessed but once in a life-time, and one worth all the 
risks of battle to witness. But we could not stop to 
enjoy this grand, moving panorama of war. On we 
went, amid a perfect tangle of sights and sounds, 
filled with such rare, whole-souled excitement as sel¬ 
dom falls to the lot of man to experience, and 
thoughts of danger were for the time farthest from 
our minds. Even the horses seemed to enter into 
the spirit of the occasion and to strain every nerve 
to do their full duty in the day’s strange deeds, obey¬ 
ing the least motion of rein or spur with unusual 
promptness, as if feeling the superiority of their 
riders in this terrible commotion. A railroad cut 
breaks our formation somewhat, and for a moment 
checks our advance, but that is soon crossed, and we 
reform with but slight loss of time and are again on 
the charge. A shell from the battery on our right 
comes screaming with harsh voice along our line, 
apparently directly over our heads, and seeming so 
near as to make it impossible, almost, for the left of 
the company to escape its effects—and bursts quarter 
of a mile away. My left-hand comrade, Bill, shrugs 
his shoulders as it passes, saying: "Ssh—that made 


THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 


21 


me dodge!” a feeling I thoroughly reciprocate, 
though I try to laugh at him. Oil we went; my 
battalion, in response to an order, wheeling half¬ 
right, going for and driving the enemy away from 
the battery, and passing by the lonely and now quiet 
guns that a moment before were so loudly talking, 
while the remainder of the regiment keeps its origi¬ 
nal direction. And see ! the rebel force in our front 
is in full retreat, and the charge has turned to a 
chase. Now goes up a cheer and a yell which must 
have startled the very stones as we rode over them. 
One defiant trooper, scorning to retreat before the 
"cowardly Yankees,” remains firm in his position as 
we reach him, turning neither to the right nor to the 
left, breaking through the ranks of two companies in 
their headlong speed, and nearly escaping recogni¬ 
tion and capture in the excitement. On we went, 
faster and faster, if that were possible, over fences 
and ditches, driving the enemy a mile or more. O ! 
it was grand; and though I was wounded and taken 
prisoner before the fight was over, ’twas worth it. 
I sometimes fancy that if 1 were allowed to choose, I 
would say: "Let me bid good-bye to this world 


22 


SERVICE OF THE CAVALRY IN 


amid the supreme excitement of a grand, exultant, 
successful cavalry charge like this.” 

For the third time the confederate government 
and press were forced to acknowledge that the Yan¬ 
kee cavalry was good for something. While a pris¬ 
oner I was so fortunate as to get hold of rebel 
papers, and found to my great delight that they 
were very much exercised over this engagement, 
calling attention to the fact that this was the third 
time—Kelly’s Ford, Stoneman’s Raid and Brandy 
Station—that Yankee schoolmasters and shoemakers 
had proved superior to their own cavaliers, and sug¬ 
gesting the removal of their cavalry leader, General 
J. E. B. Stuart. 

This engagement prevented a raid northward by 
Stuart, and developed the fact that Lee’s army was 
in motion and heading for Maryland. Then com¬ 
menced the campaign which ended at Gettysburg. 
The two armies started northward, the cavalry of 
each keeping sharp watch of the movements of the 
opposing army. Our own cavalry was most active, 
meeting the enemy’s cavalry almost daily, and in se¬ 
vere engagements, whipping them at Aldie, Middle- 


THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 


23 


burg and Upperville, on the 17th, 19th and 21st of 
June respectively, preventing General Stuart from 
crossing into Maryland at Edward’s Ferry, as he 
wished, and also preventing him from learning the 
movements and intentions of our army. 

Then came glorious Gettysburg, the first real de¬ 
cisive victory of the Army of the Potomac, the 
turning point of the war, the actual breaking of that 
rebellious back bone which had been "about to be 
broken” so many times before. According to Gen¬ 
eral Meade’s official report, General Buford’s cavalry 
(then a division) commenced this action, just be¬ 
yond the town, and held the rebel infantry gallantly 
until General Reynolds came up. During the whole 
three days the cavalry was busy on both flanks, fight¬ 
ing gloriously, and preventing no less than five sep¬ 
arate attempts to turn the flanks of our army, two 
of these attempts being with large forces of infantry, 
and one at least of which, if successful, would have 
proved disastrous to our cause, as thereby the enemy 
would have secured a commanding position on Round 
Top, besides capturing a large wagon train. As an 
evidence of the services of the cavalry during this 


24 


SERVICE OF THE CAVALRY IN 


battle, it may be said that General Custer’s brigade 
alone lost 78 killed, 232 wounded and 232 missing; 
while General Meade in his official report of the bat¬ 
tle pays due tribute to the services of the cavalry 
and the successful accomplishment of their duties. 
More than this, General Lee, in his official report of 
the battle, says : 

“The march towards Gettysburg was conducted more slowly 
than it would have been had the movements of the Federal army 
been known. * * * Stuart was left to guard the passes of 
the mountains and observe the movements of the enemy, whom 
he was instructed to harass as much as possible should he at¬ 
tempt to cross the Potomac. * * * No report had been re¬ 
ceived that the Federal army had crossed the Potomac, and the 
absence of the cavalry rendered it impossible to obtain accurate 
information. * * * General Stuart continued to follow the 
movements of the Federal army south of the Potomac after our 
own had entered Maryland, and in his efforts to impede its prog¬ 
ress, advanced as far eastward as Fairfax Court House. Find¬ 
ing himself unable to delay the enemy materially, he crossed the 
river. * * * The ranks of the cavalry were much reduced 
by its long and arduous marches, repeated conflicts, and insuffi¬ 
cient supplies of food and forage.” 


General Lee further states in this report that the 
Federal army prevented any communication to him 


THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 


25 


from General Stuart, and that no information had 
been received that the Federal army had crossed the 
Potomac until the twenty-ninth. W. H. Taylor, Ad¬ 
jutant-General of the Army of Northern Virginia, 
ill his "Four Years with General Lee,” says of the 
Pennsylvania campaign : 

“ With the exception of the cavalry the army was well in 
hand. The absence of that indispensable arm of the service was 
most seriously felt by General Lee. He had directed General 
Stuart to use his discretion as to where and when to cross the 
river—that is, he was to cross east of the mountains, or retire 
through the mountain passes into the Valley and cross in the 
immediate rear of the infantry, as the movements of the enemy 
and his own judgment should determine—but he was expected 
to maintain communication with the main column, and espe¬ 
cially directed to keep the commanding general informed of the 
movements of the Federal army. * * * No tidings what¬ 

ever had been received from or of our cavalry under Stuart 
since crossing the river; and General Lee was consequently 
without accurate information of the movements or position of 
the main Federal army. An army without cavalry in a strange 
and hostile country is as a man deprived of his eyesight and be¬ 
set by enemies; he may be never so brave and strong, but he 
cannot intelligently administer a single effective blow.” 

The same book also gives the order of the rebel 

corps in crossing the Potomac, and says : "Leaving 

3 


26 


SERVICE OF THE CAVALRY IN 


to General Stuart the task of holding the gap of the 
Blue Ridge Mountains with his corps of cavalry.” 
Within a few months there has been some contro¬ 
versy in the papers as to why General Stuart was ab¬ 
sent from General Lee’s arm} 7 at this time, but I have 
seen nothing as to where he was, and am compelled 
to accept the statements above as to his movements, 
and from all the circumstances to believe that he 
was kept from joining the rebel army by our own 
cavalry. It is on record that General Kilpatrick 
met Stuart on the twenty-ninth of June, and that on the 
thirtieth he fought him for four hours at Hanover, and 
in the language of General Lee, prevented him hav¬ 
ing any communication with the main army until 
too late to be of any service. Taking these facts 
into consideration, and taking into consideration the 
fact that uever before in the history of the Army of 
the Potomac were the movements of the enemy so 
well watched, or so well known at headquarters, as 
during the campaign which ended with this battle,* 

♦Since this paper was written I have read several of the papers published in 
the Philadelphia Times, under the general title, “ Annals of the War,” and 
make the following extracts bearing upon the Battle of Gettysburg: 


THE ARMY OF THE TOTOMAC 


27 


owing to the services of the cavalry, is it too much 
to claim that the cavalry of the Army of the Poto¬ 
mac made the victory at Gettysburg possible ? 


General Kilpatrick, in an article entitled “ Lee’s Campaign in October, 18G3,” 
says: * * * “Hanover, Pa., where, with my division (Third Cavalry Di¬ 
vision, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac) I stopped Stuart in his march on 
Gettysburg, repulsed him, and for three days kept him on the run in a great 
circle, and preventing him from reaching Lee’s lines till late in the night of the 
second day at Gettysburg, when I again met and repulsed him, causing Lee to 
exclaim; “ Where, oh, where, is Stuart? Oh, if Stuart were only here! ” Any 
one of my gallant troopers could have told him, for they never lost sight of 
Stuart’s graybacks from his repulse at Hanover to Gettysburg, three days 
later. * * * In the campaign of Gettysburg alone, it (the Third Cavalry 
Division) fought eleven battles in sixteen days, and captured four thousand 
five hundred prisoners, nine guns and eleven battle flags. * * * General 
Pleasanton, whom I loved then and honor and love to-day as a true friend, a 
soldier to whom this government owes more than any one man save Meade, 
for the victory at Gettysburg.” 

Major-General David McM. Gregg, commanding the Second Division Cavalry 
Corps, in a paper entitled “ The Union Cavalry at Gettysburg,” after detailing 
the services and various engagements of the cavalry from the fight at Brandy 
Station to the arrival at Gettysburg, says: “ The Army of the Potomac, mov¬ 
ing in pursuit of Lee, was required to protect itself on one side from any 
possible attack of the enemy, and to extend its protection on the other 
side to Washington. These successful engagements of our cavalry left our 
infantry free to march, without the loss of an hour, to the field of Gettysburg, 
where the Army of the Potomac was destined to deliver the blow which, more 
than any other, was to determine the issue of the rebellion.” And in speaking of 
the battle of Gettysburg, General Gregg says: “On the third, during that 
terrific fire of artillery which preceded the gallant but unsuccessful assault of 
Pickett’s Division on our line, it was discovered that Stuart’s cavalry was 



28 


SERVICE OF THE CAVALRY IN 


After Gettysburg, and during the remainder of 
the campaigns of that summer, the advance to the 
Rapidan, the return to Centreville, and the sec- 


moving to our right, with the evident intention of passing to the rear, to make 
a simultaneous attack there. What the consequence of the success 0 / this 
movement would have been, the merest tyro in the art of war will understand. 
When opposite our right, Stuart was met by General Gregg, with two of his 
brigades (Colonels McIntosh and Irvin Gregg) and Custer’s brigade of the 
Third Division, and, on a fair field, there was another*trial between two cav¬ 
alry forces, in which most of the fighting was done in the saddle, and with 
the troopers’ favorite weapon—the sabre. Without entering into the details 
of the fight, it need only be added, that Stuart advanced not a pace beyond 
where he was met; but after a severe struggle, which was only terminated 
by the darkness of night, he withdrew, and on the morrow, with the defeated 
army of Lee, was in retreat to the Potomac.” 

Major-General Alfred Pleasanton, Commander of the Cavalry Corps, closes 
a review of the campaign of Gettysburg, as follows: “To close, as 1 began, 
that justice has not been done to the cavalry in the campaign of Gettysburg, 
the above review in my opinion, clearly shows it. I can say that they had 
greater opportunities for distinction than their companions in arms, and they 
so fully availed themselves of these advantages that, without their services, 
the record of the campaign would be like the play of ‘ Hamlet ’ with the part 
of ‘ Hamlet’ left out. Further, the renown for all that is great and glorious in 
cavalry warfare they established for themselves in that campaign, made them 
the peers of the famous troopers of the Great Frederick, and the splendid 
horsemen who swept over the plains of Europe led by the white plume of the 
dashing Murat.” 

Colonel William Brook-Rawle, in a paper entitled “The Right Flank at Get¬ 
tysburg,” says : “ But little has been written of the operations of the cavalry 
during the battle of Gettysburg. So fierce was the main engagement, of which 
the infantry bore the brunt, that the ‘affairs’ of the cavalry have almost 


THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 


29 


ond advance to the Rapidan, the cavalry was always 
busy, pounding away at the enemy at every oppor¬ 
tunity and finding many opportunities, meeting their 
cavalry often in good square tight and whipping them 
as a general thing, and not being driven by the ene¬ 
my’s infantry. In an order issued by General Meade, 
October seventeenth, he bears testimony to the activ¬ 
ity, zeal and gallantry of the whole cavalry corps, and 
to the efficient and arduous services rendered by the 
corps in all the recent operations. 

Then came the advance into the wilderness and 
the campaign at Mine Run. During this movement 
the cavalry had its share of the work. The division 


passed unnoticed, yet on the right flank there occurred one of the most beautiful 
cavalry fights of the war, and one most important in its results. It may be 
confidently asserted that, had it not been for General D. McM. Gregg and the 
three brigades under his command on the Bonaughtown road, on July 3, 1863, 
that day would have resulted differently, and, instead of a glorious victory, 
the name of ‘ Gettysburg ’ would suggest a state of affairs which it is not agree¬ 
able to contemplate.” 

Major-General Henry Heth, of the Army of Northern Virginia, in a paper 
entitled “Why Lee Lost at Gettysburg,” says: “The failure to crush the Fed¬ 
eral army in Pennsylvania in 1863, in the opinion of almost all the officers of 
the Army of Northern Virginia, can be expressed in five words—the absence 
of our cavalry.” E. p. t. 


30 


SERVICE OF THE CAVALRY IN 


to which I belonged (then the Second, under 
our old commander, General Gregg) had the ad¬ 
vance on the left, and had some severe fighting to 
do, as well as doing lots of scouting, picketing, etc., 
while another division had the advance on the right. 

During the next winter the cavalry scouted and 
picketed much as the winter before, while several 
expeditions were sent out in different directions, 
cutting the enemy’s communications and destroying 
much property. One of these expeditions, with 
which was my regiment, visited Luray Valley and 
destroyed a large manufactory in which were 80,000 
confederate government saddles, finished and in all 
stages of manufacture, as well as flouring mills and 
other property. Amusing incidents occurred on 
this expedition every hour—in fact we laughed all 
the time—but I musn’t stop to tell stories. During 
this winter, also, the expedition known as "Kilpat¬ 
rick’s Raid to Richmond” took place, and if it was 
not the success that was anticipated ’twas not owing 
to want of gallantry or power of endurance on the 
part of the men. 

In the spring of 1864 General Sheridan was placed 


THE ARMY OF THE ROTOMAC. 


31 


in command of the Cavalry Corps of the Army of 
the Potomac, and we became members of "Sheridan’s 
Cavalry,” than which no prouder title can be borne. 
Who General Sheridan was, nobody at that time 
knew. Indeed, when the news of his appointment 
to this command was sent over the wires, some of 
the newspapers (who all through the war knew more 
about the army and the movements than did those 
who were at the front) announced in big head lines, 
that General Sherman was to command the Cavalry 
Corps of the Army of the Potomac. The cavalry, 
the people, and the enemy knew more about Gene¬ 
ral Sheridan soon after that. Then commenced the 
grand campaign which resulted in settling the army 
down before Petersburg. The cavalry staid with 
the army in the wilderness a few days until things 
got somewhat settled, doing some good fighting 
in the meantime, and then, on the ninth of May, 
swung off around the left of Lee’s army and 
started for Richmond on Sheridan’s first raid. We 
were gone outside of our lines seventeen days, liv¬ 
ing on the country, cutting railroads, destroying 
property, and making things lively generally. Dur- 


32 


SERVICE OF THE CAVALRY IN 


ing this trip we had several engagements, and some 
of them severe ones, including a hot fight inside the 
outer line of the fortifications of Richmond and 
within sound of the bells of the city, on which occa¬ 
sion, it was said, Jeff. Davis and his cabinet were 
out on a hill—''Academy Hill,” I think it was,—to 
see the Yankee cavalry fall into a trap set by Gene¬ 
ral Stuart, and be captured. But General Stuart 
received his death wound in a fight with us the day 
before, and the Yankee cavalry refused to be cap¬ 
tured, coming out of the trap with flying colors. 
Then we began to know who General Sheridan was. 

When we rejoined the Army of the Potomac we 
received the joyful intelligence that General Grant 
proposed to "fight it out on this line if takes all 
summer,” and that he had been doing big things in 
our absence. The army was then on the North 
Anna. Hardly had we got within our lines and had 
time to read our mail (the collection of more than 
three weeks), than we were on the move again. 
General Grant had got ready for another flank move¬ 
ment, and the cavalry being there must take the 
advance. So off two divisions started, with the 


THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 


33 


Sixth Corps, toward the left, crossing the Pamun- 
key near Hanover Town Ferry, and the next day, 
twenty-eighth of May, we found the enemy near what 
was known as Hawes Shop, and fought and won what 
General Grant pronounced the most severely con¬ 
tested cavalry engagement of the war. Still we 
kept working to the left, skirmishing continually, 
scouting always, picketing all the time, until June 
sixth, at which time the army was in the vicinity of 
some of the battle-fields of the Peninsular campaign 
of two years before. Then we started off on an¬ 
other expedition, going this time to the right. 

This was an expedition against the Virginia Cen¬ 
tral Railroad, with instructions to General Hunter, 
who was coming down from the Valley, and whom 
it was hoped to meet near Charlottesville. We got 
as far as Trevillian Station on the Virginia Central, 
half a dozen miles from Gordonsville, and there met 
the enemy in strong force. A severe engagement 
ensued which lasted all day, and in >vhich we were 
finally victorious, scattering and driving the enemy 
so we could find no signs of him in any direction 
the next day. A day was spent in destroying the 


34 


SERVICE OF THE CAVALRY IN 


railroad for miles, and then General Sheridan, hear¬ 
ing nothing from General Hunter, and the fight hav¬ 
ing been so severe as to draw heavily upon his am¬ 
munition, thought best to return to the Army of the 
Potomac, which was done. The march back was 
more tedious than the march there, the June sun 
and the enemy making it hot for us indeed, but we 
reached the James River, where we were under 
the protection of the gunboats, on the twenty-first 
day after leaving our lines, and the next day crossed 
the river and were again with the glorious old Army 
of the Potomac, which was then settling down be¬ 
fore Petersburg. But we got no rest, even now. 
General Wilson’s cavalry, of the Army of the 
James, had been off on a raid upon the enemy’s 
communications, on the left, and it was feared was 
in close quarters, so we were sent out to help him 
back. He got back, though, without any of our 
help. Finally, on the fourth of July, we went into 
camp near Light House Point and got a few days 
rest, having, since we crossed the Rapidan on the 
fourth of May,—just two months before—slept two 
nights in the same place but twice (both instances 


THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 


35 


being on picket), and been outside of our lines more 
than half the time. We thought that was what 
might be called active campaigning, but we rather 
enjoyed it than otherwise. I don’t mean to sa} r that 
we enjoyed the fighting, of which we had full share, 
—there were very few who did enjoy that—but we 
did enjoy the variety, the riding over the country 
every day in a new locality, and in fact the whole 
service except the fighting, and even the excitement 
of that, and the glorious exaltation of victory, were 
enjoyable. It may be asked what was the good of 
these two expeditions. They were a part of Gene¬ 
ral Grant’s grand plan, which every one now admits 
was successful, and were as successfully carried out 
as any part of the plan. General Grant says of 
them, incidentally, that they had the effect of draw¬ 
ing off the whole of the enemy’s cavalry and making 
it comparatively easy to guard our trains. Another 
thing: General Grant’s idea was to wear the enemy 
out by attrition, and the enemy’s cavalry got all the 
"attrition” they wanted. 

Soon after getting into camp in front of Peters¬ 
burg, General Sheridan left us for the Shenandoah 


36 


SERVICE OF THE CAVALRY IN 


Valley, taking with him two divisions of the Cavalry 
Corps and leaving the division to which I belonged 
with the Army of the Potomac. The Sixth Corps 
went, also, and was put under his command, as I 
remember it, after arriving in the Valley. The glo¬ 
rious deeds of the forces under General Sheridan in 
the Valley are on record, and are proudly remem¬ 
bered by all so fortunate as to have served under 
him there, be he cavalryman, infantryman or artil¬ 
leryman, so there is no need of my dwelling upon 
that service, only to say that everybody knows that 
in that campaign the cavalry bore well its part. 

The division that remained with the Army of the 
Potomac (Second, still under command of General 
Gregg) during the remainder of the summer moved 
from right to left and from left to right of the line 
in front of Petersburg without any regard for rest 
or comfort. Twice it was sent across the James to 
the extreme right to make a demonstration and at¬ 
tract the attention of the enemy while important 
movements were going on elsewhere. The first was 
at the time of the explosion of the Mine; the result 
of the second was the capture of the Weldon Rail- 


THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 


37 


road, on the left, by the Second Corps, thus cutting 
valuable communications of the enemy with a portion 
of the country from which he largely drew supplies. 
Indeed, rebel papers stated or else the rebel pickets 
told us (for we often had communication with the 
pickets) that the day after the railroad was captured 
the rebel soldiers were put on half rations and their 
horses on half forage. And after we had called the 
enemy up to the right and given the Second Corps 
an opportunity to capture the road, we had to hurry 
back, go down to the left and help them hold it, 
which was no small job as the enemy made a desper¬ 
ate attempt to re-capture it, and a severe engage¬ 
ment was fought at Reams Station, which only dark¬ 
ness, and the arrival of the Ninth Corps during the 
night, prevented being a defeat on our part. Vari¬ 
ous other movements were made that summer, and 
a grand forward movement was attempted in Octo¬ 
ber, in all which the cavalry was conspicuous. Then 
there was picket duty in abundance when there was 
nothing else to do. I would like to relate a few in¬ 
cidents of that summers campaign, but I must not 

stop to tell stories. We weren’t idle that summer 
4 


38 


SERVICE OF THE CAVALRY IN 


or fall—not at all. Matters remained about the 
same with us until we got into winter quarters, 
when we had a steady job to picket on the left and 
rear, mingled with scouting plenty, and now and 
then a bit of a raid on the enemy’s railroads. 

In February a movement was made which resulted 
in extending our lines a couple miles to the left, to 
Hatcher’s Run. As usual, the cavalry had the ad¬ 
vance, and when the fight began naturally had the 
left. We fought by the side of the Fifth Corps all 
day long, and held our own. I remember one cir¬ 
cumstance in connection with this movement which 
shows the genius of General Grant. His famous 
railroad from City Point to the left of the army for 
the transportation of supplies, is well known. Well, 
the day after the fight we were sent to the left and 
rear to go on picket, and soon after leaving the bat¬ 
tle ground we came across a gang of soldiers busily 
at work extending that railroad to keep pace with 
the extension of the lines, and it is probable the 
road was not more than a day behind the army. 

Then came the last, grand campaign. The di¬ 
vision was then in command of General Crook (now 


THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 


39 


famous as an Indian fighter), our loved General with 
whom we had served more than two years, General 
Gregg, having resigned during the winter. A 
change had also been made in the division, a new 
brigade having been formed, called the Third, to 
which my regiment was assigned, which brigade was in 
command of Colonel Charles H. Smith, colonel of my 
regiment and for most of the two previous glorious 
summer campaigns commanding it. As we left 
camp on the morning of March 29, 1865, we were 
cheered at seeing General Sheridan (who had just 
arrived from the Shenandoah) and his staff, as well 
as his famous scouts, followed by the cavalry he had 
w r ith him in the Valley. Then we were sure of vic¬ 
tory. We didn’t care how many troops were in 
front, rear, or on either flank, or where we were, if 
only "Little Phil.” were with us. We started off 
with cheerful hearts, marching that day to Dinwid- 
die Court House, and being at the extreme left of 
the lines. The next day it rained and we killed time 
trying to keep comfortable. 

The thirty-first was an active day indeed. A por¬ 
tion of my brigade was sent out in the morning on 


40 


SERVICE OF THE CAVALRY IN 


picket while we remained quietly in camp. About 
eleven o’clock lively firing was heard in the direc¬ 
tion of the pickets. Soon an orderly rode up to Col¬ 
onel Cilley,(J. P.) commanding my regiment, with the 
order : "Go to the aid of the pickets, at once.” We 
mounted, rode a mile or more, and drew up in line 
in a large open field, behind a rising ground. On 
the right was the road anci resting on it, woods— 
pine with no undergrowth or brush. On the left, a 
short distance away, were woods. In front we 
could see only the hill. The firing had stopped—all was 
quiet. We learned, by one of those mysterious ways 
by which orders and plans sometimes become known 
to all the command almost before the general had set¬ 
tled what they were to be, that w r e were there to 
hold the crossing of a creek—"Great Cat Tail Creek” 
we were then told it was, but since then it has been 
called by various names. One battalion under com¬ 
mand of Captain Myrick (J. D.) was sent out scout¬ 
ing beyond the pickets. The order was passed 
through the remainder of the regiment to be "pre¬ 
pared to fight on foot” at any time. The men were' 
already counted off by fours, and now the reins of 


THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 


41 


horses Nos. one, two and three were given to No. 
four man to hold with orders to "Look out for my 
grain,” "Take care of my haversack,” and a thou- 
sand-and-one instructions. His part in the com¬ 
ing action was to take care of the four horses and 
their loads. The sabres were strapped to the saddles 
and all superfluities taken from the person and fast¬ 
ened to the saddle or put in the saddle-bags. The 
grain bags and all baggage were strapped firmer on 
the saddles—they might go through some heavy 
shaking before the riders again got to them. The 
cartridge-boxes were filled to their utmost capacity 
—the spare ammunition in the saddle-bags were put 
in the pockets—the carbines were examined,—the 
"Spencers” loaded carefully with their seven deadly 
messengers, and the "Henrys” wound up to unwind 
and set flying sixteen humming birds to sing iii the 
ears of the enemy. The canteens that were full 
were thrown over the shoulders—there was no 
knowing how much we might want a drink of water be¬ 
fore we again saw our horses. The "traps” were taken 
care of by each one as if sure of coming back, 
while at the same time everything of value was left 


42 


SERVICE OF THE CAVALRY IN 


with the led horses as if there was a chance of not 
returning. Then the boys took it easy till called 
for—sitting down, lying down, sleeping even, writ¬ 
ing (perhaps the last line home), smoking, laugh¬ 
ing, joking, anything but what looked like expecting 
every moment to fight, but all knowing their places 
and ready to "fall in” at the first note of warning. 

At the headquarters of the regiment a group of 
officers was collected, talking over the prospects of 
a fight. A captain borrowed a needle and thread, 
with which he sewed up some money in the watch- 
pocket of his pants, concealing the same as well as 
possible, saying—"No knowing what may happen— 
I may go to Richmond this trip.” Another officer 
took the hint and sewed his up in his vest. The ad¬ 
jutant inquired the time. "Twenty minutes of one.” 
"In about four hours,” said he, "the rebs. will come 
down on us with one of their thundering sunset 
charges.” A young lieutenant who had not yet 
christened his shoulder-straps in the smoke of bat¬ 
tle, and who was evidently a little anxious as to his 
behavior in his first fight as an officer, said, with a 
nervous smile : "I’m afraid they won’t wait till then.” 


THE ARMY OF THE TOTOMAC. 


43 


Hark ! there is firing in front—the scouts have run 
into the enemy. "’Tention!” shouts the Colonel, 
and the men spring into position as by one motion 
and wait further orders. ’Tis only a scattering fire, 
soon quieted, and the men settle back into their 
lazy, listless positions of before. Not long do they 
remain so this time, however, for suddenly the firing 
commences again, and nearer and more rapidly 
than before. Evidently Captain My rick's battalion 
is being driven back, though their carbines are rat¬ 
tling heartily, and the boys know the battalion too 
well to think they are retreating any faster than they 
can be pushed. Colonel Smith, commanding bri¬ 
gade, and his staff, ride to the top of the hill in front. 
Colonel Cilley calls the men to attention again, and 
now they remain so. An orderly from the front rides 
up to Colonel Smith, speaks a moment, and a staff’offi¬ 
cer starts from him toward the headquarters of the 
regiment. The boys know by the intuition of expe¬ 
rience what that means and are ready. Colonel Cil¬ 
ley and his staff mount, the men anticipate his first 
order, and almost before he opens his mouth are 
'Fours—Right” aud marching to the road at a quick 


44 


SERVICE OF THE CAVALRY IN 


step. We are but a few rods from the top of the 
hill, yet we can see that Colonel Smith is anxious— 
we don’t move fast enough. As if a stall’ officer 
might not give the order just right, Colonel Smith 
himself rides to Colonel Cilley and tells him: 
"Move faster; they are driving Captain Myrick’s 
battalion; you must stop them ; deploy your men 
across the field to the left of the road and move to 
the crest of the hill as fast as possible.” The men 
hardly needed instructions. One motion of Colonel 
Cilley’s arm and each oue seemed to know just 
where he was wanted, and in as quick time as the 
regiment ever made on foot they are in line across 
the field and moving for the crest. As we got to 
the top what a sight greeted our eyes ! The woods 
on the right extended along the road to the creek— 
some two hundred yards; on the left of the road, 
directly opposite the regiment, was the open field to 
the creek, which was skirted on both sides by a 
scrubby thicket, and beyond the creek were woods ; 
on the left of the field and of the regiment were 
woods nearly to the creek. The regiment which had 
been on picket (Second New York Mounted Rifles) 


THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 


45 


held the woods on the right of the road, while my 
regiment extended across the field to the woods on 
the left. The ground was a gentle descent. As we 
reach the top of the hill the road close to us was 
filled with wounded men and officers on their way to 
the rear, mixed in with the led horses of Captain 
My rick’s battalion, while a little farther on the men 
of the battalion were fighting manfully but being 
slowly pressed back, and less than a hundred yards 
away. In the road, just coming out of the thicket, 
was a body of cavalry, charging towards the regi¬ 
ment, swinging their sabres and yelling like demons, 
and in the field was a strong line of infantry advanc¬ 
ing and keeping up a lively fire. One moment 
later and the position had been lost. The instant 
the boys could see over the hill, hardly waiting 
for the command to charge, which rang out in 
clear tones from Colonel Cilley, they opened fire 
and with a cheer started for the enemy. It was 
no place for a standing fight—’ twas too late for that. 
A quick, impulsive charge was all that could save us 
then, and that might not, and the men understood 
it. I had eyes only for that column of cavalry in 


46 


SERVICE OF THE CAVALRY IN 


the road. On they came, brave fellows, and for a 
moment it seemed as if a hand-to-hand light—mount¬ 
ed rebels against dismounted boys in blue—was in¬ 
evitable. But the repeaters in the hands of our 
boys were too much for them. On they came, but 
came no nearer. Men and horses went down and 
the head of the column remained in nearly the same 
place. It was like a stream of water thrown from an 
engine against a heavy wind—a more powerful 
stroke on the brakes sends the stream a bit further 
now and then, but the wind drives it back and keeps 
it just there. ’Twas only for a moment—they found 
’ twas no use and retreated, the infantry in the field 
going with them. Our boys followed them, passing 
in their headlong charge, killed and wounded rebel 
officers and men, quickly gained the thicket and took 
position there, and in the road soon had up a breast¬ 
work of fence rails which but a moment before had 
divided the field from the road in the usual zig-zag 
line. The flurry was over—we had only to hold the 
position after having taken it. 

We remained on the line, changing position some¬ 
what, strengthening weak places, making arrange- 


THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 


47 


merits as thought best for holding the position as 
long as possible, the men firing occasionally and the 
rebels also firing, occasionally having a man killed 
or wounded and we hoped occasionally returning the 
same compliment to the rebels, till between four and 
five o’clock. At this time some changes were made 
in the disposition of the line, and I met the 
young lieutenant again, who smilingly remarked : "I 
told you I was afraid they wouldn’t wait so long be¬ 
fore they made a charge on us.” We talked about 
the events of the day for a moment, when we heard 
a tramping in the woods across the creek, and the 
cry, "there they come!” And coming they were, 
through the woods and fording the creek up to their 
waists, scarcely fifty yards distant, just commencing 
their "thundering sunset charge.” The lieutenant I 
never saw afterwards. He w'as killed during the at¬ 
tempt to repulse this charge, leaving no stain on his 
courage, and brightening his shoulder straps in this 
blood-christening. 

Our boys, who had got tired of fighting in the 
slow manner and were sitting down, lying down, 
watching every movement of the enemy, ready for 


48 


SERVICES OF THE CAVALRY IN 


duty at the first call, but still in anything but the 
position of a soldier, sprang to their places and in 
an instant were pouring a heavy fire into the ad¬ 
vancing foe. The boys fought bravely—the enemy 
advanced as bravely, keeping up a heavy fire and 
taking our fire without being checked in the least. 
They had a piece or two of artillery in position, and 
were throwing shot and shell into the woods, rat¬ 
tling down among us twigs and large limbs as well 
as their iron hail, while above all the noise and con¬ 
fusion, the rattling of the carbines, the roar of the 
artillery, the screaming and bursting of shells, the 
commands of officers and shouts of men, rose the 
shrieking, whining, rebel charge yell. We were 
slowly pressed back, fighting for every inch of 
ground. We were not being driven—it was no re¬ 
treat—we were fairly pushed, crowded back. It 
was a step backward, firing as we went, then turn 
around and walk a step or two, then turn again and 
fire (and our repeaters did murderous service we 
afterwards learned). Men were getting out of am¬ 
munition and were going to the rear, but were 
stopped by the officers and ordered to get cartridges 
from the wounded men. 


THE ARMY OF THE TOTOMAC. 


49 


The enemy was crowding us back—slowly but 
surely — our ammunition was almost gone, and 
our thinned ranks were giving way faster and 
faster. Back—beyond the field in which we had 
left the led horses, for they were taken further to 
the rear at the first of the fight—and still back, till 
we were retreating as fast as possible, hoping to 
reach a place of safety soon but not knowing how 
far we might be obliged to travel before reaching it 
—straining every nerve to prevent being taken pris¬ 
oners, and still fighting as vigorously as we could— 
when suddenly as we came to a turn in the road we 
saw a strong line of our own men behind a breast¬ 
work of rails but a short distance from us. This 
gave us new vigor, and in a few moments we were 
behind the works and could stop to breathe. The 
enemy’s mounted men followed to the bend in the 
road, when, seeing the force, they quickly retreated. 
We had held the position till a strong line had been 
formed in our rear—had done all and more than had 
been expected of us—and our duty was done. 

This description, of course, relates only to what I 
saw myself, but the rest of the division, and some 
5 


50 


SERVICE OF THE CAVALRY IN 


of the other divisions of cavalry also had hot work. 
The situation was this. General Lee had that morn¬ 
ing successively driven two divisions of the Fifth 
Corps back, and was endeavoring to get in rear of 
our cavalry, which was thus left without support, 
hoping to whip the cavalry thoroughly, check the ad¬ 
vance of our army, and gain a position at Five Forks.- 
The force that we drove back at the opening of the 
fight was sent there to attract attention and keep a 
force there while a large force of the enemy was 
sent to the right of our cavalry to flank it if possi¬ 
ble. There the intentions of the enemy were de¬ 
feated by the stubborn resistance of our cavalry. 
General Sheridan says of this engagement: " All the 
enemy’s cavalry and two divisions of infantry were 
unable to drive five brigades of cavalry, dismounted, 
from an open plain in front of Dinwiddie Court 
House.” Then the enemy made an attack along the 
whole line, which succeeded in driving us back, but 
not until other movements of our forces were com¬ 
pleted, the line was formed in our rear, and the vic¬ 
tory at Five Forks was possible. 

As an evidence of the severity of this fight I may 


THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 


51 


be allowed to say that my regiment went into the 
engagement with nineteen officers and not more than 
three hundred and twenty-five men, and had one offi¬ 
cer killed and four wounded (one of whom died of 
his wounds) and fourteen men killed, sixty-eight 
wounded, and twelve missing (all the missing being 
wounded and left on the field)—an aggregate of 
ninety-nine—nearly one in three. We thought that 
was fighting. 

Is it necessary to mention the services of the cav¬ 
alry at Five Forks, where they fought all day alone, 
charging the enemy’s breastworks, squarely, and 
keeping the enemy’s attention while the infantry was 
getting into position ready for the last grand move¬ 
ment which resulted in complete victory ? 

Petersburg was captured, Richmond evacuated, 
and the rebel army was in full retreat. General 
Sheridan was put in command of a force of infantry 
as well as the cavalry, and away we went after the 
flying enemy. That was fun, and for the first time 
during the war, fighting became a real pleasure. 
There was plenty of it, too, but the prestige of vic¬ 
tory hung over all. Up in the morning early, hardly 
waiting for breakfast, the cavalry took the advance, 


52 


SERVICE OF THE CAVALRY IN 


with General Lee’s wagon trains, which were mov¬ 
ing on a road parallel with the one we were on, in 
sight now and then as the lay of the land allowed. 
On arriving at the first cross road leading to the road 
on which the enemy was retreating, the division in 
the advance took the cross road and charged upon 
the enemy, while the remainder of the column' 
moved on. At the next cross road the next division 
started for the retreating enemy, and so on. The 
division that first left the column was driven back, 
but followed along the line of march in time to get 
in on another cross road, and this time success 
greeted the whole line, the enemy was driven, the 
train reached and a large part of it destroyed, and 
prisoners almost beyond number captured, includ¬ 
ing seven general officers. And the infantry was 
right up with us all the time, the Sixth Corps doing 
its full share in this last grand achievement, which 
is known as the battle of Sailor’s Creek. I have 
never heard any complaint from the infantry of hard 
marching during this campaign, but one thing is cer¬ 
tain, the infantry never before was so well marched 
or so well handled as during this campaign, under 


THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 


53 


the leadership of that glorious little cavalryman, 
Phil. Sheridan. They kept up with the cavalry, and 
were ready and in condition to fight at any moment, 
taking gallant part in the exciting and glorious 
work. This was on the sixth of April. The sev¬ 
enth was much like the sixth, pursuing the retreating 
enemy and striking him at every opportunity. 

On the eighth the triumphant march was continued. 
Just before dark the division to which I belonged 
sent out a strong detail as a foraging party, for Phil. 
Sheridan cared little for base of supplies, though he 
made no boasts concerning the matter, and soon 
after that we halted at a cross roads near a railroad, 
to allow another command to go by. While here 
we heard the whistle of an approaching locomotive, 
and were much astonished thereat. A moment later 
a train came thundering along, stopping close by us, 
and from the engine a cavalryman, the impromptu 
engineer, sang out: "Custer has charged into'Appo¬ 
mattox Station and captured three trains, and here’s 
one of them; pitch in, boys I” We did pitch in, 
helping ourselves to rations and forage in abun¬ 
dance, as well as to such clothing as we wanted, and 


54 


SERVICE OF THE CAVALRY IN 


an hour or two later laughed at the foraging party 
as they returned from their expedition, telling them 
we could forage if we weren’t detailed for the pur¬ 
pose. 

That night we went into camp near Appomattox, 
had a good square meal, turned in, and most of the 
men were enjoying their first nap, when orders- 
came for the brigade to move out immediately. Be¬ 
ing sergeant-major, I had to notify the company 
commanders, and if ever a man got thoroughly 
cursed ’twas me that night. We were soon on the 
march, and learned that we were going out to hold 
a road. We marched through burning wagon trains 
and over the debris of the retreating army, and 
about midnight ran into the enemy. A short skir¬ 
mish and a line was formed, dismounted, across the 
road, on the top of the hill looking over into Appo¬ 
mattox Court House, a breastwork of rails hastily 
thrown up, and the pickets posted, and then the rest 
of us went to sleep. Sleep was sweet that night, with 
no thought of the great events of the morrow. 
With the first break of dawn the enemy commenced 
the attack, and fought bravely to drive us away and 


THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 


55 


get the road. We did not know at the time, as it 
afterwards proved, that that road was the road to 
Lynchburg and the only way Lee could escape, and 
that upon us rested the hopes of the whole Army 
of the Potomac and of the country, but we fought 
as stubbornly as though we knew this, for all felt 
that the end was near. The enemy brought five, 
aye, ten times our numbers against us, but they 
seemed dispirited by their retreat and did not fight 
with their old-time vim. By a flank movement with 
a large force of infantry, and by hard work, they 
finally, at nine or ten o’clock, pushed us away from 
the road, and had nearly driven us from the field, 
when up came the colored troops of the Twenty- 
fifth Corps, who took our places, charged across 
the field, and the war was over. An hour later we 
marched back over the field, up to the top of the hill 
where the line was formed at midnight, and from 
there saw the two armies resting on their arms, and 
the flag of truce. 

I have always claimed that the colored troops 
made the last charge and fired the last shot in the 
Army of the Potomac, and I have also always claimed 


56 


SERVICE OF THE CAVALRY. 


that the cavalry fought the last fight of the Army of 
the Potomac. General Sheridan says of this morn¬ 
ing’s work: "The enemv discontinued his attack as 
soon as he caught sight of the infantry, and then up 
went the white flag.” The comrades will understand 
that I have spoken of my own regiment, brigade, or 
division, because I know more about them, and only 
as representatives of the whole cavalry corps of the 
Army of the Potomac. 

In closing this imperfect sketch of the cavalry ser¬ 
vice, I will only say that if there is anything I am 
proud of, it is that I was a cavalryman in the grand 
old Army of the Potomac during the war of the re¬ 
bellion. 



































































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